Raval residents and supporters will demonstrate at 19:00 tonight, Thursday 8 October, to oppose the threatened eviction of the Àgora Juan Andrés Benítez, a self-managed community space on Carrer de l’Aurora. The eviction, previously scheduled for today, has been postponed until Thursday 15 October while Barcelona City Council negotiates with the plot’s owner, Sareb.
The action is being promoted by the Coordinadora Moviments Socials i Sindicals. Organisers say it will defend both the space’s continued presence in Raval and its assembly-led management model.
- Time: 19:00, Thursday 8 October
- Place: Àgora Juan Andrés Benítez, Carrer de l’Aurora, Raval
- How to take part: organisers have published the location through their event listing.
Campaign seeks to retain assembly management
The plot has been occupied since October 2014 and has been used as a community space. Campaign representatives say the Àgora serves weekly meals for people in need and provides an afternoon rest and welcome space for people experiencing homelessness.
Directa reported that the campaign had been told Barcelona City Council submitted an offer to Sareb to buy the site, but that no judicial decision had halted the eviction. The campaign says a council purchase would not by itself guarantee the continuation of the current self-managed model.
“The most urgent thing is that the eviction is not carried out so that the Àgora can remain in the neighbourhood, and what we want is for it to continue as it has been, managed by the assembly,” said Iñaki Garcia, an activist from El Lokal and a campaign spokesperson.
Municipal sources told Línia Ciutat Vella on 29 September that the council and Sareb had held several meetings over a possible agreement for future public uses of the plot. The same report said Sareb had confirmed that the site was not for sale while negotiations continued.
Primary sources: interior.gencat.cat. Reported by directa.cat, liniaxarxa.cat, ma.to, idensitat.net, Directa.
